The Corral/Magnificence

The story “The Corral” is about this girl who had two boys in, one was an ugly and insisted on courting her even if she didn’t like him and said she will eat her words, and the other guy whom she liked but did not end up with. I think the story is entitled “The Corral” because she is somewhat trapped in a world like the Corral literally. The corral is a structure that entraps fishes and other sea creatures in rivers, lakes and oceans. I think that the corral can be applies in real life because sometimes in your life, you are trapped with only a few choices to make and to pursue. But we also believe in the saying: “when there’s a will, there’s a way!” It teaches us that we should not give up on life. Life is full of challenges and we must use those challenges to get ahead of ourselves and to our own advantage! The second story which is entitled “Magnificence” by Estrella Alfon,

Love in the Cornhusks/The Virgin

The story “Love in the Cornhusks”, is another Filipino story for me because of the mentions of barrios and senyora.

The story’s setting was like in a barrio. There was a girl named Tinang who worked for a Señora. Tinang had a son with a bagobo which was described to have big ears because maybe because of the description native and ‘natives’ usually as we imagine it have big ears because its part of their genes. There were two people mentioned. Tinang’s past and first love Amado and Tinang’s present Inggo. Tinang and Amado were separated. Now, the reason why Tinang and Amado were separated was because Amado’s mother was sick and he had to go home to his place and take care of her. After that Tinang again was said again to be pregnant. After a while, Tinang was spwending her life with Inggo, she got a letter from the post office from Amado which was about Amado’s concern about his relationship with Tinang. While she was reading the letter, I was sick of the girl because Amado is her loved one but yet she left him for another guy and the baby she could be holding can be Inggo’s. For me, I believe that if you love a person, you can wait for him provided the time is not forever and communication is still possible. Love is a sacred word for me that I only say “I Love You” to a person I really love because nowadays from my own experience, that “I love you” is a common term and laughed or even joked about and it makes me sick reading the story of this character tinang.I notice in the story that maybe the author was trying to point out how girls think, very unpredictable and constantly changing, like when Tinang was reading Amado’s letter to her, it seemed like she wanted to go back to him.
Next story,”The Virgin” by Kerima Polotan. For me the story was Filipino in a way as stated in the story that Ms Mijares takes care of her mother which usually happens here in the Philippines and not like in other countries like USA where people just leave their parents in Nursing homes like “Home for the aged”. The story is quite long and for me, it’s just like another day in a person’s life which makes me yawn and wish to our professor that please ma’am give as another story rather than this. This is so ordinary that it’s quite dull.

Bread of Salt/May day Eve

The short story “Bread of Salt” is indeed very Filipino. For us, Filipinos we, people start our day really early, like in the short story the boy wakes up early to buy bread specifically “pandsesal” from the bakery. There are two types of family, one is a family living with a lolo and lola and the other one is that lolos and lolas live in the “Home for the aged”, a typical Filipino home would be composed of grandparents because fathers and mothers trust them to take care of their children and give them advice if ever something goes wrong and that situation as present in the story which makes me really conclude that this is indeed a Filipino story. I can’t imagine that in other countries, people would send their fathers and mothers in a place called “Home for the aged” when they are old ands break stuff like plates, vases, etc... I mean, haven’t they got a gratitude for these olds people who raised them up when they were young?! Honestly, I was really confused why the story was entitled “Bread of Salt”, I mean, the bread there wasn’t really that significant. There was a part there in the story that I can considered funny for me, it is the part when every morning, the boy would follow his crush in the same path when he would go to school. It’s funny for me because when you’re talking those kinds of story for me, I’m imagining a little stalker, stalking a girl. Ha-ha! The ending for me was like there is no life, it’s like, okay, its the ending, no funny noises, no fireworks, no kiss for the main character from the girl, no fancy ending, juts a small mystery or blank space that you can imagine what would probably happen next or an ending of your own to imagine.


The next story “May day Eve” wasn’t like pretty boring for me. The story was complicated and had a deeper meaning of you look more into it. I only know that the “devil” that was reffered in the mirror that Ageda was talking about was actually not really a devil but Badoy and the witch that Badoy. The grandson is actually the grandson of Badoy and Ageda. I think that the story wants to show internal conflicts in the family. I really didn’t like the story May day Eve

The Mats/Divide By Two

The Mats by Francisco Arcellana, for me, was at first a Filipino story because of the “pasalubong”, in the first part, it was stated there “For the Angeles family, Mr. Angeles'; homecoming from his periodic inspection trips was always an occasion for celebration. But his homecoming--from a trip to the South--was fated to be more memorable than, say, of the others.

He had written from Mariveles: "I have just met a marvelous matweaver--a real artist--and I shall have a surprise for you. I asked him to weave a sleeping-mat for every one of the family. He is using many different colors and for each mat the dominant color is that of our respective birthstones. I am sure that the children will be very pleased. I know you will be. I can hardly wait to show them to you."”, Now this line in “The Mats” kinda reminds me of my own father because my dad would often bring home a pasalubong almost every night back when I was still a kid. In the story, the “pasalubong” was obviously the mats and bringing home a “pasalubong” was a Filipino attribute which henceforth gives me to my opinion that this story indeed is a Filipino one.

Now in this line: “Yes, Emilia," said Mr. Angeles, "There are three more mats to unfold. The others who aren't here..."

Nana Emilia caught her breath; there was a swift constriction in her throat; her face paled and she could not say anything.

The self-centered talk of the children also died. There was a silence as Mr. Angeles picked up the first of the remaining mats and began slowly unfolding it.

The mat was almost as austere in design as Mr. Angeles' own, and it had a name. There was no symbol or device above the name; only a blank space, emptiness.” I wasn’t first sure of why there were three more mats but then I saw in the ending in this line: ” "Do you think I'd forgotten? Do you think I had forgotten them? Do you think I could forget them?

"This is for you, Josefina!

"And this is for you, Victoria!

"And this is for you, Concepcion."

Mr. Angeles called the names rather than uttered them.

"Don't, Jaime, please don't," was all that Nana Emilia managed to say.

"Is it fair to forget them? Would it be just to disregard them?" Mr. Angeles demanded rather than asked.

His voice had risen shrill, almost hysterical; it was also stern and sad, and somehow vindictive. Mr. Angeles had spoken almost as if he were a stranger.

Also, he had spoken as if from a deep, grudgingly-silent, long-bewildered sorrow.” That the extra mats were for their dead children and the mother and the father were really sad in losing their children.



The second story, before was entitled “Divide by Two” which is quite confusing for me maybe because of its title: “Divide by Two”. Now this is a weird story because for mew, I think this story is like a normal story which happens in everyone’s life. “Panloloko” usually happens in anyone. In this story, a neighbor fools someone in dividing the property. I don’t like the story because it’s like more of a documentary than a story.